EVENT: IDB Annual Meeting
The OPEC Fund attends the Annual Meeting of the Inter- American Development Bank and its private sector arm IDB Invest
UNLOCKING POTENTIAL IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
L atin America and the Caribbean is one of the OPEC Fund’s core regions with total approvals approaching US$4.5 billion across more than 30 countries. With this track record and a strong appetite to further deepen its footprint in the region the OPEC Fund participated in the Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and its private sector arm IDB Invest in March in Panama. “This is an important opportunity for us to meet with governments, institutions and businesses, explore new opportunities and share views”, said Public Sector Regional Director Miguel Linares. In more than 30 meetings the OPEC Fund team, which also included Ulrike Haarsager, Head of Development Effectiveness, Luis Aguilar, Senior Country Manager, and Luiscela Moreno, Senior Investment Manager, discussed urgent and long-term needs of the
region and how to address those challenges.
as well as the global International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Proparco, the private sector financing arm of the French Development Agency, provided opportunities to discuss and coordinate approaches and strategies. The OPEC Fund pays great attention to developing plans with partners with the goal of maximizing its leverage and impact. About four out of five OPEC Fund projects benefit from co-financing.
Special emphasis was put on engaging and mobilizing the private sector as the key to unlocking further development funding. “This very diverse region holds enormous potential for sustainable development and climate action,” said Ms. Haarsager. In addition to natural resources and arable soil, the region has a mobile, innovative and highly motivated workforce. “We stand ready to help the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean explore opportunities to further improve peoples’ lives while using resources responsibly and sustainably,” she added. Conversations with IDB counterparts but also other development partners such as CAF – Development Bank of Latin America, the FONPLATA Development Fund for Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay,
60
Powered by FlippingBook